Online Sales Assessments: Test or Not to Test?

During the initial interview with a candidate, an employer can glean a fair amount of information by asking behavioural-based interview questions. However the interview can only provide you so much information about a candidate, whereas a dependable assessment tool to help you analyze the core behavioral traits and cognitive reasoning speed of candidates.

There are many commercialized and specialty tests available. These tools are designed to measure everything from sales and mental abilities, personality traits, occupational interests to critical thinking, motivational values or a combination of these skills and abilities. These assessment tests can be administered in person or online, but the trend is towards online assessments. Online testing and submission of results can help you determine whether the candidate should be invited for a personal interview.

So what type of assessment is right for your salespeople? An effective assessment is one that helps you determine whether the key attributes and motivations (e.g. ego-drive, independence, optimism, enterprise) of the candidate match the requirements of your organization.

Creating Success Profiles of Top Performers in Your Organization
In order to use an assessment test you need to measure the candidate’s results against a profile of an employee who has succeeded in the same sales role. Many vendors/consultants of assessment products will assist you in compiling a "success profile" or they may already have benchmarks that they have developed based on their industry experience with previous clients.

The process for developing a “success” profile or benchmark is fairly straightforward. For example, let's say there are 20 sales reps in the company. Within that group, there are 4 that are top performers, 12 that are middle-of-the-road and 4 that are marginal performers. To develop a “success” profile, you need to profile everyone in the sales group to identify any skills and attributes that are common to the top group but missing from the other groups. Using this information, you'll be able to develop a profile to help you select the candidates most likely to succeed in that position. Remember, you can't tell if you've found a match if you're not matching candidates against a specific profile.

The success profile created for each position (e.g. Senior Sales Representative, Account Manager etc.) will help you determine which behavioral traits are important for that position. For example, if you are looking for a Business Development Representative you need someone who is fairly outgoing, willing to take risks and possesses a lot of self-discipline to set up appointments and pursue opportunities.

When Do You Use Assessment Tools?
As an employer you have two options when scheduling candidates for an assessment. You can incorporate assessment testing into the preliminary screening process to eliminate candidates that do not possess the necessary attributes identified in your “success” profile. Another option is to have candidates who have made your “shortlist” take the assessment to gain a better understanding of their perceived “fit” or to confirm what you have learned with their references.

Determining at what stage you should use an assessment test really depends upon the sales role you are seeking to fill. When hiring for a customer service role, you may want to use an assessment test at the beginning of the selection process to whittle down the number of candidates who don’t fit the criteria of your “success profile.”

Popular Online Sales Assessment Tools
There are literally thousands of online assessment tools available to assist employers in making a final selection in the hiring process. The following assessments are just some of the tools utilized by CPSA members:

Profile XT is a multi-purpose assessment that can be used for selecting, training, coaching, promoting, managing new hires and reassigning existing employees. The Profile XT measures the qualities that make up the "Total Person" - thinking style and reasoning, occupational interests, and behavioural traits. The Profile XT can produce several types of reports: individual, placement, coaching, multiple job match etc. CPSA has developed benchmarks for a wide range of inside and field sales roles along with specific ones for sales management . Available in English and French.

Click here for more information www.cpsa.com/SRC

Profile Sales Indicator is an online assessment that provides a means of selecting candidates who have the five qualities that make salespeople successful: competitiveness, self-reliance, persistence, energy, and sales drive. The Sales Indicator also predicts on-the-job performance in seven critical sales behaviors: prospecting, closing sales, call reluctance, self-starting, teamwork, building and maintaining relationships, and compensation preference. The assessment takes about 15-20 minutes to be completed by a candidate. Available in English and French

Click here for more information www.cpsa.com/SRC

D.I.S.C. is an acronym that stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. The tests consist of questions a job candidate answers to help an employer determine more about the candidate’s personality skills or personality. The DISC Personality Assessment provides information about both.

McQuaig Word Survey assessment identifies eight behavioral characteristics: Dominance/Acceptance, Sociability/Analytical Thinking, Relaxation/Drive and Compliance/Independence. This assessment also looks at the types of candidate’s sales profiles from Generalists, Enthusiasts, Pioneers, Cooperators, Administrators and Specialists. Click here for more information www.mcquaig.com

Sales Simulator is an online selection and development assessment tool that utilizes the latest in video simulation technology. Candidates are shown 22 visual depictions of business to business sales and asked to select the Most Effective and the Least Effective course of action. The Sales Simulator ranks a candidate by his or her strongest skills in areas such as analyzing customer’s needs, active listening, managing the sales process and influencing and closing. Click here for more information www.salessimulator.com

Prevue 2000 is an objective, validated online assessment product providing critical information about a candidate’s numerical reasoning, problem-solving abilities, interests, work-related personality dimensions and characteristics (e.g. leadership style, attitudes etc). Provides comprehensive information on compensation preferences, importance of work, tolerance of risk, preference for change and perception of the world. Various report outputs available in either English or French. Click here for more information www.catalysttraining.ca

Caliper Personality Profile provide clear, objective information on an individual's strengths, limitations and motivations, along with solid suggestions for improving performance. Since it was first developed, the Profile has undergone continuous refinement, and ranks today as one of the most advanced tools for matching personality to job performance. Click here for more information www.calipercanada.com

TTI Success Insights has a portfolio of online assessments to help both current and prospective employers gauge the success characteristics of successful candidates. TTI's MFS Sales™, the Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values, and the Sales Strategy Index™ assessments are ideal for information gathering in regards to potential hires for sales.

The Managing for Success® Sales assessment is designed to give insights into how a person will sell and interact with potential clients. The MFS Sales™ quantifies information on how salespeople see themselves and presents this self-perception in a detailed computer report.

Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values™ (PIAV) assessment provides information on the "why" of a person's actions, which can tremendously impact their valuing of life. In a sales position this report is especially useful to determine what motivates the individual to sell.

Sales Strategy Index covers six different steps in the sales process: Prospecting, First Impressions, Qualifying, Demonstration, Influence, and Closing. The Sales Strategy Index presents 54 different "real life" sales situations. Each situation has four alternative ways to be handled. Respondents are given the opportunity to rank the four alternatives from "best" to "worst". By comparing their responses with those of proven top sales professionals, a report is generated showing strengths, weaknesses and how well they understood sales strategy in seven categories.

Click here for more information www.shorwood.com